Time of Changes
by Blood Rose Vampiress
Summary: Dokugakuji is falling for Kougaiji, but can his prince ever feel the same? Meanwhile, Ni Jianyi wants to keep them apart forever. It's a time of changes for everyone in Houtou castle. DokuKou.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is the first chapter of my new DokuKou fanfic. It will get more exciting as time goes on. Enjoy! ^^

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Late as it was, Dokugakuji paced his room, hands stuffed into his pockets, annoyed because he couldn't sleep. Annoyed because he knew the reason why he couldn't sleep and he couldn't change it. Annoyed because that reason he couldn't sleep was because he kept thinking about Kougaiji. Now, thinking about the prince wasn't all that uncommon among the guards and servants -he _was_ their prince after all- but it was more about the _way_ Doku was thinking about him. Not as a prince or a friend, but as… something more. Or course, Kougaiji was only his friend and prince, but that didn't stop him from wishing he was something more, that they were closer. He'd been being haunted by these thoughts for a while, and now it was even starting to interfere with his sleeping. This really wasn't good. He wished he could erase these thoughts as soon as they appeared in his mind, but no matter what he did, they stayed. With a loud sigh, the demon thrust his hands into his pockets and headed for the door. Perhaps a walk would help clear his mind.

Footsteps echoed down the silent halls of Houtou castle where Kougaiji walked slowly. It was a little after three in the morning, but the prince couldn't sleep. In fact, he'd been having trouble sleeping for quite some time now, and nothing seemed to help. Coming to a window, he gazed out into the star-filled night. He'd always loved the stars. He remembered one night, long ago when he was little, his mother had taken him for a walk in the moon-lit gardens. She'd taken his hand and told him about the different constellations, and how there was a whole other world out there, far away, beyond sight. It was a memory Kougaiji would never forget. He would always cherish it and keep it close to his heart. His mother. Kougaiji missed her so much, though he tried to keep those feelings hidden. He couldn't afford to look weak.

"Hey, Kou!" Startled out of his memories, the prince turned around and stepped right into someone. "Dokugakuji… what are you doing here?" he asked, stepping backwards and looking up into the face of his bodyguard.

"Oh nothing, just taking a walk," replied Dokugakuji, smiling just a bit too cheerfully. Drat. He'd wanted to escape his thoughts of Kougaiji, so running into him now didn't exactly help. Especially when the prince was wearing nothing more than a pair of jeans.

"It's the middle of the night," Kougaiji pointed out, looking at him skeptically.

"Well yeah, that's true, but…." Dokugakuji ran his fingers through his hair and tried to look anywhere but at his prince. "But it's not as if I'm the only one walking around," he replied, ignoring the point.

Kougaiji sighed and leaned back against the wall, not saying anything for a moment. His eyes, Dokugakuji observed, looked kind of… sad. Sad and lonely. And as Kougaiji finally lifted them and looked straight at Dokugakuji, he felt a sudden urge to wrap his arms around the other, to comfort and protect him, and tell him everything was going to be all right, that whatever happened he'd always be there for him. But of course he didn't, because he worried that if he touched Kougaiji, he wouldn't be able to stop.

"Are you all right?" he finally settled for asking, gazing at Kougaiji intently.

"Yes," the prince answered, though his voice was dull and unconvincing. "I… I should get some sleep," he mumbled, and began to walk past Dokugakuji, who then turned and put his hand on his shoulder. Kougaiji's bare skin felt warm, and Doku tried to stay focused. "If you ever need anyone to talk to… I'm here." Dokugakuji looked deep into his prince's eyes, and thought he felt Kou shiver. Or not. Kougaiji forced a weak smile, nodded, and stepped away. "Thank you, Doku," he replied, before continuing to walk down the hall, leaving his bodyguard staring after him.

Back in his room, Kougaiji flopped down onto his king-sized bed and stared at the ceiling. Part of him felt like he was about to cry (something he didn't do very often and only when he was thinking of his mother), but the other part of him felt… strange. The new feeling wasn't really something he recognized. He remembered the way Dokugakuji had looked at him and touched his shoulder, and chills ran down his spine. What was this? Why was he feeling this way? It was just Dokugakuji, the man he had known for years, his best friend! Kougaiji let out an irritated sigh and rolled over. He would try to get some sleep. And perhaps sometime, sometime soon, he would take Dokugakuji up on his offer.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as Dokugakuji woke up he remembered the feel of Kougaiji's smooth, warm skin, his beautiful but lonely eyes, the way he seemed to shiver when he touched him. Lying there, Dokugakuji felt a small smile form on his lips. He hadn't tried anything with Kougaiji. That was something he had been worrying about a lot lately; that if he got too close to his prince he would lose control and attempt to kiss him or do something… else to him. It was so very annoying to have to try and avoid the other. Maybe though, just maybe, this meant he was not so hopeless after all, and he could still get over Kougaiji, could see him as just a friend again. As soon as he thought that though, Dokugakuji knew it wasn't possible. Just _looking_ at Kou made his heart beat faster. There was no way he was going to get over this guy soon. With a soft sigh, Dokugakuji closed his eyes again. He might as well try to get some more sleep.

Unfortunately though, just as he was about to drift off, there came a loud knock on the door. He growled and pulled a pillow over his head, trying to ignore it, but it came again.

"Doku?" came Yaone's soft voice, and Dokugakuji finally got to his feet and opened the door.

Yaone blinked up at him, her eyes scanning his rumpled clothes, messed up hair, and tired expression. "Oh, did I wake you up?" she asked, frowning. "I'm sorry."

Dokugakuji shook his head. "No, I was already up," he replied, running his fingers through his hair, trying to comb it. "Do you need something?"

Yaone bit her lip and glanced away for a minute before looking back at him. "It's about Lord Kougaiji…" she began, and Dokugakuji felt his heart flutter. "Has he seemed… different to you lately? Kind of sad and quiet?"

Dokugakuji stepped backward so Yaone could come in and shut the door behind him. "You could say that…" he replied slowly, frowning. So Yaone had noticed it too. "I saw him last night. He looked kind of lonely."

"Maybe we should talk to him. Or you should. You're closer to him than I am…."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Dokugakuji sighed. He should have insisted his lord tell him what was wrong last night. The more Yaone spoke the more worried he got. What if something was really wrong? What if something horrible had happened? What if….? "I'll go talk to him now," he said quickly, walking to the door. "Do you know where he is?"

Yaone nodded, looking her eyes concerned. "He's still in his room."

Now this was odd. Kougaiji was usually up at the crack of dawn even though he could usually sleep as long as he liked. Dokugakuji opened his door and stepped into the hall, Yaone following.

"Please try to find out something," she said in a quiet but intense voice. She looked close to tears, and this reminded Dokugakuji how much Kougaiji meant to everyone. How much he had done for them. He would never forget the first time he had met Kougaiji. The young man really was extraordinary. Not many people were as kind, as selfless as he was. "Please, try your hardest. I'm really worried about him."

That made two of them. "I will, stay calm. Everything will be all right." At least that's what he hoped.

"Come tell me as soon as you do!"

Dokugakuji nodded, then, with a forced smile, turned and walked in the direction of Kougaiji's room.

Kougaiji had gotten little sleep that night after his encounter with Dokugakuji. He had tossed and turned and ended up trying to read a book about the history of Houtou castle. The book wasn't exactly entertaining, so the prince thought it might help him fall asleep. Unfortunately though, it didn't work, so by the morning he knew most of the detailed details of the castle history. That was enough for him. Raising his arm, he threw the book across the room and just missed hitting a fishbowl. The fish nearly jumped out of the water at the threat, and Kougaiji flopped back down against the pillows. His mother. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He wanted so much to free her of the curse, but it was taking so long. He was sick of working for Gyokumen Koushou, but what else could he do? He wanted his mother back. She had been the one he always relied on, always came to for advice, the one he trusted most out of anyone. Just like… Dokugakuji. It seemed like his bodyguard had taken his mother's place for now. But there were things he felt toward Dokugakuji that he hadn't felt about his mother…. He remembered how it had felt when Doku touched his shoulder, and realized he wanted his bodyguard to touch him again… and again… and again. The prince let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. He imagined Dokugakuji pressing him against the wall, kissing him passionately, hands all over….

"Kou?" came a quiet voice, followed by a knock on the door.

With a start, Kougaiji sat up quickly, nearly falling off the bed. There was a pause, then another knock. Kougaiji took a deep breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. It was him. Slowly he stood and walked towards the door, then opened it a crack and peaked out. "Y-yes? What is it?" Damn. His voice was shaking.

There was a moment of silence, then: "Can I come in?"

Kougaiji stepped back and opened the door wide, then shut it again beyond Dokugakuji. The two stood there in silence for a minute, and Kougaiji gestured for Doku to sit down. Dokugakuji glanced around the large room, and finally took a seat in a comfortable looking arm chair. Kougaiji sat on the edge of his bed, facing his bodyguard. "Did you need something?" the question came out rather sharply, and Kougaiji regretted it when he saw Dokugakuji flinch.

"I…" Dokugakuji shifted nervously in the chair. Now that he was here he didn't exactly know what to say. Maybe he should just leave. It would probably be the easiest thing to do. Then he remembered the tremble in his lord's voice as he opened the door. No, he would find out what was wrong if it killed him. He cared too much about the other to let this go.

"You seem… kind of sad to me," he began, stumbling over the words slightly. "Yaone's noticed it too. We want to know what's wrong."

Kougaiji looked at him for a minute. "Nothing's wrong," he replied, trying hard to sound convincing. Secretly he was touched that Dokugakuji cared so much, but he wasn't used to sharing his feelings with anyone. The only one he had ever been comfortable doing that with was… his mother.

Instantly Dokugakuji noticed the sad look in Kougaiji's eyes. No matter how much his lord denied it, he knew something was wrong. "I don't believe you," he said softly, getting up and walking over to Kougaiji. He sat down on the bed next to him, trying to ignore how close they were. "Something's wrong. Tell me."

Obviously Dokugakuji wasn't going to leave until he was told what was wrong, and Kougaiji was getting rather nervous with him sitting so close. Maybe it was just better to tell him and get this over with….

"Lately I've been… missing my mother a lot," he finally said, not looking at Dokugakuji. "It's like every little thing reminds me of her. I-I can't escape." There. He'd said it. And now Dokugakuji was looking at him with sympathy in his eyes. He hated sympathy. He really wished the other wouldn't look at him like that.

"I wish I could do something about it," Dokugakuji said softly. Kougaiji looked so sad that Dokugakuji couldn't help it. He wrapped his arms around his prince and pulled him into a tight hug.

Kougaiji was shocked but he didn't pull away. Dokugakuji's arms around him felt so… so right. He lay his head on his bodyguard's shoulder and they stayed that way for a minute, or maybe longer, neither could really tell.

"There's… there's something else I should tell you too," Kougaiji finally said, lifting his head and looking into Dokugakuji's eyes. It was unlike him to be this nervous, but he couldn't help it. "You see, I… I…" Oh, this wasn't working. It would be impossible to tell Dokugakuji how he felt about him. So he would have to show him. Slowly he leaned forward, and softly brushed his lips against the other's, then pulled away quickly, looking down.

For a moment all there was was silence, and Kougaiji's nervousness was increasing. "I'm-" he began, but was cut off by a pair of lips touched his gently, then pressing more eagerly, and the prince could do nothing but respond to the kiss. It was all he had imagined and so much more. His eyes fluttered closed and he pressed himself against Dokugakuji excitedly, his bodyguard's arms tightening around him, lost in their heated embrace. The whole castle could have crumbled around them and they wouldn't have known.

Dokugakuji broke the kiss a few minute later, but they didn't move, just sat there staring into each other's eyes. Dokugakuji idly scolded himself for now showing Kougaiji how he felt a long time ago. They could have been doing this much sooner. Of course, he was a bit surprised by Kougaiji's actions, but he was too happy to question it much. They could have stayed there forever, gazing at each other, but Kougaiji remembered he had duties to attend to around the castle and Dokugakuji had promised to tell Yaone as soon as he found out what was wrong with Kougaiji.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Dokugakuji murmured, reluctantly getting up off the bed. "Remember, I'm always here for you. Always. You can talk to me about anything." He touched Kougaiji's cheek and gave him a soft, lingering kiss before he walked to the door and shut it quietly behind him.

Kougaiji was still for a moment, then he too got up and began to dress for the day. His mood had improved greatly.


End file.
